{"id":70685,"date":"2026-05-14T08:47:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T08:47:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/70685\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T08:47:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T08:47:31","slug":"trump-greets-xi-in-beijing-to-kick-off-historic-china-summit-with-grand-welcome-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/70685\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump greets Xi in Beijing to kick off historic China summit with grand welcome ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"

BEIJING \u2014 President Trump shook hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping Wednesday<\/a> to kick off a historic summit between the world\u2019s two most powerful heads of state.<\/p>\n

Trump and Xi stood shoulder-to-shoulder outside China\u2019s Great Hall of the People, a massive Communist Party showpiece overlooking Tiananmen Square, during the lavish arrival ceremony<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The handshake marks the seventh face-to-face between Trump and Xi and the pair\u2019s first meeting in China since November 2017.\u00a0<\/p>\n

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping upon arrival at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, May 14, 2026. AP<\/p>\n

After greeting each other, the two leaders strolled down a red carpet and shook hands with members of their respective delegations on the steps of the Great Hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Xi then shook hands with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, White House aides Stephen Miller, Steven Cheung, and James Blair, and the president\u2019s son, Eric Trump, and daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, among others.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lines of excited young schoolchildren celebrated Trump\u2019s arrival by jumping up and down with bouquets of flowers, while others were holding US and Chinese flags.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose children were amazing,\u201d the president would later tell Xi inside the Great Hall.<\/p>\n

Trump and Xi then moved to a raised red and gold dais as the Chinese military band played the Star Spangled Banner. <\/p>\n

Trump saluted as cannon fire rang out across Tiananmen Square. The Chinese national anthem was played after the American one.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the dais, Trump and Xi participated in a troop review \u2013 inspecting an honor guard of several lines of Chinese troops in various ceremonial uniforms holding bayoneted rifles.<\/p>\n

People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) members hold up a U.S. flag and Chinese flags ahead of the arrival of U.S. President Donald Trump for a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, May 14, 2026. REUTERS<\/p>\n

The rapport between the two leaders was the biggest difference between Trump\u2019s 2017 visit and this one, according to an expert.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat changed tonight was not the ceremony \u2014 it was the chemistry,\u201d Isabelle Vladoiu, a business etiquette expert and founder of the US Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights, explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompared to the more conservative and rigidly ceremonial interaction in 2017, tonight\u2019s ceremony appeared significantly more jovial, conversational, and personally interactive,\u201d Vladoiu said. \u201cThe handshake was longer, the two leaders continued speaking while greeting and walking together, and Xi Jinping \u2014 who is typically extremely reserved in public protocol settings \u2014 spent considerable time personally engaging with President Trump throughout the ceremony.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Trump and Xi are expected to lead bilateral talks between the two delegations<\/a> inside the Great Hall for roughly two hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an honor to be with you. It\u2019s an honor to be your friend, and the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before,\u201d Trump said at the start of their meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The president touted bringing the \u201cgreatest businessmen \u2026 the best in the world\u201d with him on the trip.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted only the top, and they\u2019re here today to pay respects to you and to China, and they look forward to trade and doing business, and it\u2019s going to be totally reciprocal on our behalf,\u201d Trump said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI really look very much forward to our discussion,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s a big discussion. There are those that say this is maybe the biggest summit ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump walks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Beijing. AP<\/p>\n

The president, who is traveling with about a dozen CEOs, including SpaceX and Tesla\u2019s Elon Musk, Apple\u2019s Tim Cook and NVIDIA\u2019s Jensen Huang, has pledged to call on Xi to \u201copen up\u201d China to American business as his \u201cvery first request.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI have never seen or heard of any idea that would be more beneficial to our incredible Countries!\u201d Trump wrote on Truth Social<\/a> Tuesday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The meeting comes as the two global superpowers have sought to iron out tensions<\/a> over recent years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a bilateral meeting at the Great Hall of the People. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Last year, Trump slapped massive tariffs on China, which fluctuated frequently and at one point soared into triple digits. During that time, the two economic giants traded barbs, with China imposing restrictions on rare earth exports and the US stopping advanced chip sales that Beijing could use to give it a key boost in the artificial intelligence race.<\/p>\n

US investment in China<\/a> also plunged dramatically.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite all that, Trump has frequently highlighted his positive relationship with Xi, and the two countries have made progress on a trade framework aimed at cooling down tensions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Also on the president\u2019s agenda for this week\u2019s visit are artificial intelligence, nuclear weapons, and human rights \u2014 including the imprisonment of tycoon Jimmy La<\/a>i, who founded a pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong, and Pastor Ezra Jin, a pastor with American family members who was also arrested.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump is also expected to discuss the Iran war.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Chinese have ships stuck in the Persian Gulf,\u201d Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News host Sean Hannity ahead of the meeting. \u201cA Chinese cargo got hit over the weekend. I\u2019m sure Iran didn\u2019t do it deliberately but they did it, it happened. And so that\u2019s why these Chinese ships are stuck in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Members of the U.S delegation, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, center, arrive before President Donald Trump is greeted by Chinese President Xi Jinping at a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Beijing. AP<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump and China\u2019s President Xi Jinping greet children during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Beijing. AP<\/p>\n

Rubio argued, \u201cIt\u2019s in [China\u2019s] interest to resolve this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they\u2019re doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow The Post\u2019s live coverage of President Trump and national politics for the latest news and analysis<\/a><\/p>\n

Lawmakers like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)<\/a> have accused China of propping up Iran by providing critical intelligence and funding through oil purchases.<\/p>\n

However, Trump has largely dismissed those concerns, telling reporters Tuesday of Xi: \u201cI think he\u2019s been relatively good [on Iran], to be honest with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Children holding Chinese and U.S. flags rehearse before the welcome ceremony for U.S. President Donald Trump by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Thursday, May 14, 2026. AP<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Xi is expected to push Trump to tone down US support for Taiwan, a longstanding flashpoint in the US-China relationship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After the bilateral meeting, Trump will head back to his Beijing hotel and return to the Great Hall later in the evening for a state banquet with Xi.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s visit to China was postponed from early April<\/a> due to the ongoing war with Iran.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Beast, ferrying U.S. President Donald Trump, arrives for a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People on May 14, 2026 in Beijing, China. Getty Images<\/p>\n

U.S. President Donald Trump inspects an honour guard during a welcome ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, May 14, 2026. REUTERS<\/p>\n

The president will meet with his Chinese counterpart again on Friday before flying back to Washington.<\/p>\n

Trump received a red-carpet welcome at Beijing Capital International Airport earlier Wednesday by US Ambassador to China David Perdue; Xi\u2019s vice president, Han Zheng; China\u2019s Ambassador to Washington Xie Feng; and Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ma Zhaoxu.<\/p>\n

The official party was accompanied by a military band and honor guard, as well as 300 youths singing a welcome message and waving American and Chinese flags in time to the band\u2019s music.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump greeted the crowd with his signature fist pumps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BEIJING \u2014 President Trump shook hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping Wednesday to kick off a historic summit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":70686,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[250,12,202,81,34,186,51,1745,74,48,987,8970],"class_list":{"0":"post-70685","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eric-trump","8":"tag-china","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-elon-musk","11":"tag-eric-trump","12":"tag-iran","13":"tag-marco-rubio","14":"tag-politics","15":"tag-trade","16":"tag-trump","17":"tag-us-news","18":"tag-white-house","19":"tag-xi-jinping"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/116572064589031843","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}